| Silas Aaron Hardoon | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1851 Baghdad, Ottoman Iraq |
| Died | 1931 Shanghai, China |
| Occupation |
Businessman, Member Shanghai Municipal Council, Member Conseil municipale of the French Concession |
Silas Aaron Hardoon (1851 – 1931) was a wealthy businessman and well-known public figure in the city of Shanghai in the early 20th century.
Silas was born Sileh Hardoon (סאלח חרדון) into a poor Jewish family in Baghdad.[1][2] His family left Baghdad for Bombay where he was educated at a charitable school funded by David Sassoon.
Hardoon traveled to the city of Shanghai in 1868 where he entered the employ of David Sassoon, Sons & Company as a rent collector and watchman. He rose quickly through the ranks of that company, displaying a talent for real estate. After leaving that company he expanded his interests into cotton, becoming a partner in E. D. Sassoon's and Company. Shrewd investments, particularly in properties on Shanghai's "Fifth Avenue," Nanking Road, eventually made him one of that city's wealthiest inhabitants.
Hardoon lived with his Eurasian wife Luo Jialing (née Lisa Roos 1864-1941) in the Ai-li Park, a twenty-six-acre estate, and personally financing the printing of Buddhist writings. When he died in 1931, his personal fortune was estimated to be worth $150,000,000.
Chiara Betta has written extensively on the life of Silas Hardoon. She is presently writing a book on him, his wife Luo Jialing and their life in the Aili Garden based on primary sources collected over the years in England, France, the United States of America, Israel and China.